


Mokuton Resurrection: Fresh Starts

by Raptorcloak



Series: Mokuton Resurrection [5]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, F/M, Loneliness, Loss of Parent(s), Male-Female Friendship, Older Woman/Younger Man, Orphans, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2015-10-01
Packaged: 2018-04-24 06:27:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4908826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raptorcloak/pseuds/Raptorcloak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Minato and Tsunade first met, neither one of them could have imagined the deep, romantic relationship they would have later in life. MinatoxTsunade pairing. AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

This is the story that has been a long time coming for each and every one of my fellow MinatoxTsunade fans. So, here is the story that explains everything about Minato and Tsunade's relationships in the  ** _Mokuton Resurrection_** universe: Here they first met, how they fell in love, how they married and since we already know how their daughter Haruhi was conceived, this also explains how she was born and how her identity was kept safe from her parents' enemies.  
Disclaimer: I don't own  ** _Naruto_**.  
Note: In this chapter, Minato is about 12 and Tsunade is in her 20s or 30s since I have no idea how old she was when Minato was a teenager.

* * *

"Oh, Minato!" Jiraiya called to Minato, who was in the field training.

"Yes, Jiraiya-sensei?" Minato called back.

"Come over. There's someone I want you to meet." Jiraiya said and Minato ran towards the other side of the field where his mentor was. Once he got to the other side, he saw Jiraiya but didn't notice a rock in his path.

His foot hit the rock and nearly tripped before catching himself. Minato stumbled while moving forward and his face hit something warm but soft.

All Minato saw was darkness as an incredibly soft feeling surrounded his head and he didn't move. Whatever the feeling was, Minato had never felt anything like it and he smiled.

Suddenly, he heard a feminine voice clearing their throat and he instantly knew where he was. Acting fast, he got back and found himself in front of a slender yet curvaceous blonde woman with a large bust.

Minato could only describe the woman as the most beautiful person he ever laid eyes and she looked back at him with hidden curiosity. Jiraiya chuckled and patted Minato's back.

"Minato, meet the one, the only, Tsunade Senju." Jiraiya said and Minato was amazed because up until this point, he'd only heard about Tsunade and had never known what her appearance was.

"Pleased to meet you, Tsunade-sama, I'm Minato Namikaze." Minato said as he nervously held out his hand and she gently took it before they shook hands.

"So, you're the genius student this perv always boasts about. Nice to meet you, too." Tsunade said while smiling.

"I see you take after your sensei." Tsunade said and Minato understood she must have meant his tripping into her breasts. He blushed heavily and nervously sighed.

"I'm deeply sorry for that, Tsunade-sama." Minato said as he bowed his head and Tsunade patted his head.

"Well, just watch your step next time unless you want to end up like your sensei." Tsunade chuckled.

"Yes, ma'am." Minato said and Tsunade chuckled.

"Hey, what's that's supposed to mean?" Jiraiya said.

"You know what I'm talking about; Mr. sorry I tripped on a tree root and tried to land on me." Tsunade said; referencing the numerous times Jiraiya feigned tripping and attempted to land on her bust.

"I'm telling you that was an accident!" Jiraiya said.

"Right; unlike you, Minato here wasn't drooling or blushing when he tripped over." Tsunade said with a raised eye and Jiraiya blushed.

"Minato, don't listen to a thing your sensei says about women." Tsunade said.

"Uh, ok." Minato answered.

"Don't listen to her, Minato. Women threw themselves at me and if you listen to me, I'm sure they'll do the same to you." Jiraiya said.

"Jiraiya, women throw themselves  _away_ from you. Not the other way around." Tsunade deadpanned.

"You're ruining my image!" Jiraiya said.

"What image besides a skirt-chasing pervert are you talking about?" Tsunade said and Jiraiya growled in frustration. Minato, not exactly feeling comfortable, sighed and started to walk away before his mentor and Tsunade bickered any further.

"I'm gonna go now. Pleased to meet you, Tsunade-sama." Minato said.

"Wait, Minato." Tsunade said and he turned to face her.

"Again, don't listen to any advice he gives you on women, all right?" Tsunade said.

"Yes, ma'am." Minato said and Tsunade smiled at him and nodded before leaving. As she walked forward, she glanced back at Minato and smiled.

_"One thing's for sure: Minato is gonna be a better hit when the ladies when he becomes older. It'd be nice to meet the lucky gal he'll end up with."_ Tsunade thought to herself; not having the smallest clue that the girl she was thinking about was closer than she could have ever imagined.

"Clever plan there, Minato." Jiraiya chuckled as he patted Minato on his back and the blonde boy looked up at his sensei with confusion.

"What plan, Jiraiya-sensei?" Minato asked.

"I've gotta say, I tried that tripping thing many times when I was your age but it never worked." Jiraiya said.

"You thought I fell on Tsunade-sama on purpose, didn't you?" Minato said.

"Of course, I do." Jiraiya said.

"Sensei, it was an honest accident. Tsunade-sama would have killed me if I did it on purpose." Minato protested and Jiraiya laughed while patting his student's back.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Minato. The first time I did it, I failed but you can still do it a couple times just to try your luck." Jiraiya said and Minato lowly chuckled while shaking his head.

"Sensei, I'm pretty I won't have that kind of contact with Tsunade-sama ever again." Minato stated; not having any idea of how utterly wrong he would be in his adult life. With that said and done, Minato returned to training until Jiraiya decided to call it a day.

Minato sat down in the field and relaxed for a bit. He remained still as a breeze came into view and smiled.

He suddenly heard walking behind him and he looked to see Nawaki walking by.

"Hey, Nawaki." Minato said and Nawaki stopped walking as he looked over to him.

"Oh, how's it going, Minato?" Nawaki said as he approached him and leaned against a nearby training log.

"Well, it's the same old, same old for me. What about you?" Minato said.

"Ah, not much. I hear you met my sister today." Nawaki said and Minato nervously chuckled; knowing that if the other boy knew about his accidental trip into his sister's bosom, he'd be very angry.

"Did she tell you anything?" Minato nervously asked.

"No, just that she hopes you don't become a pervert like Jiraiya." Nawaki chuckled and Minato sighed.

"That's nice to hear. So, your birthday is coming in a few days, huh?" Minato said as he rose from the ground and began walking forth. Nawaki walked alongside him and the two spiky-haired boys headed straight ahead.

"Yeah, it is." Nawaki said.

"Is there anything you'd like for a present? It will be your twelfth birthday, after all." Minato said and Nawaki groaned.

"No! Sheesh, everyone still asks me that like I'm still some kid." Nawaki said and Minato chuckled.

"Well, why not tell them that you don't want anything?" Minato asked.

"You don't think I've already tried that? Little to nobody listens." Nawaki asked.

"Ah, I see." Minato said.

"Hey, Minato?" Nawaki asked.

"Yes?" Minato asked.

"I've been thinking, what do you want to do as a Jounin?" Nawaki asked.

"Well, I want to protect this village from as much danger as possible, so I seek to be Hokage someday." Minato said.

"No way!" Nawaki said.

"Is something wrong?" Minato asked.

"If anyone is gonna be Hokage someday, it's me!" Nawaki boldly said.

"Nawaki, you too, huh?" Minato chuckled.

"Being Hokage is my goal in order to honor my grandfather." Nawaki said.

"Well, it looks like I have a rival for the title of Hokage." Minato smiled and Nawaki challengingly smirked at him.

"I could use a rival for the title to test my skills." Nawaki grinned.

"Then, may the best shinobi win." Minato said as he held out his hand and Nawaki took it. Both shook hands and smiled.

"You've got it, Minato, though I'll still get the title in the end." The cocky Nawaki said.

"All the more worth the challenge is to me." Minato smiled back as they released each other's hand.

"Perfect!" Nawaki said.

"Well, I don't know everything of what it takes to become Hokage but you're ambitious and that's a good trait for being a leader." Minato said.

"Yeah, well, you've got brains. That helps, too, I guess." Nawaki said.

"Well, Nawaki, unlike me, you already have the most connections to the Hokage." Minato said.

"Yeah, you have a point there. My grandfather was the original, my granduncle was the second, his student is the current one and my sister was his student." Nawaki said.

"Yes, so compared to you, my only connection is Jiraiya-sensei." Minato said.

"I never looked at it that way. That and both our teachers are Sannin." Nawaki said.

"That, too." Minato said and Nawaki laughed.

"Yeah, that or if you were somehow related to me by family or somethin'." Nawaki chuckled.

"Me related to you? As interesting as that would be, I'm not sure that'll ever happen." Minato laughed back and Nawaki noticed the sunset.

"Well, I gotta get back or Tsunade will kill me. See ya." Nawaki said as he took off and Minato chuckled. He looked up at the sunset and decided to head home himself.

* * *

Ah, I loved the references that connect Minato and Tsunade's future relationship. What was most fun was to have Minato trip onto Tsunade and not get hurt for it; unlike what would have happened to Jiraiya.

As for Nawaki's appearance, I figured it'd be a good idea for Minato to have at least known his future brother-in-law when he was alive and have a good friendship with him.

All in all, don't forget to subscribe to this story or you'll risk missing out on everything I have in store for this since I've been planning this storyline since I wrote  ** _Bathing Incident_**. Ja Ne and I warn you; the next chapter won't be easy to read.


	2. Tragedy and Comfort

Hi, welcome back and as I said in the last chapter, this won't be easy to read as there's tragedy to read through. Though I'm saying this, here goes nothing.  
Disclaimer: I don't own  ** _Naruto.  
_** Notes: This takes places a few days after the last chapter; one day after Nawaki's 12th birthday.

* * *

A heavy amount of rain poured through Konoha and the village had just survived a brutal attack at the hands of Iwagakure shinobi. The village managed to repel the Stone-Village forces but many shinobi and civilian were slaughtered.

Meanwhile, Tsunade hurried through the streets and headed towards the house where Jiraiya and Orochimaru had contacted her earlier. She had just received word from her fellow Sannin that Nawaki had been in a grievous explosion when fighting with Stone shinobi.

Tsunade's heart raced and she sweated halfway to death as she hurried over to where Jiraiya and Orochimaru said Nawaki was. She finally arrived at the place soaked to the bone and found her teammates.

"Tsunade…" Jiraiya said while Orochimaru casually leaned against a nearby wall and he had a smirk across his lips.

"Where is he?!" Tsunade said and Jiraiya solemnly nodded down a hallway. She looked down the hallway into a room where three shinobi stood over a covered body with several bloodstains on it; exposing only the feet.

Tsunade's irises shrank in complete horror as the body was the same size as Nawaki and judging from how the lower half of the body was bigger than the upper half, it was painfully clear that there was little to nothing left of the higher part. She stood like a statue for a while before beginning to walk down the hall before Jiraiya stopped her by placing his hand on her shoulder.

"It's best if you don't see his remains." Jiraiya said and Orochimaru chuckled.

"Is there really any difference if she sees the body or not? With the condition it's in, she won't even know it's her dear little brother." Orochimaru smirked.

"That's enough, Orochimaru!" Jiraiya snapped.

"This is war and one way or another; all shinobi will end up like this. With no medical assistants on the battlefield, lives will fall one by one." Orochimaru said before digging around his pocket.

"Orochimaru…" Jiraiya said.

"It's a real shame that the poor child became overstimulated in battle and perished; especially just after receiving a lovely present." Orochimaru continued before he pulled out Nawaki's necklace and held it out to Tsunade. After a few passing moments, she dropped to her knees and buried her head in her hands.

Tsunade cried in grief as Jiraiya kneeled down to her and sympathetically placed his hand on her back. Orochimaru stood as he was as the necklace dangled freely about in his hold and though he had no facial emotion, he was deeply disheartened that his student was gone.

_Elsewhere later on_

Minato sat on his bed and tears fell from his eyes as he held a portrait of his parents while silently weeping. The day hadn't gone any easier for him both since he lost both of them while helping them guide civilians to the village shelter and they were both decapitated by an Iwagakure ANBU before his eyes while defending him.

Although Minato had immediately avenged his parents by slashing the man's ribcage apart, that didn't dull the pain that he no longer had any family. He looked at the picture and rubbed the tears out of his eyes.

He heard the door ring and he got off the bed to head to the door. Minato opened the door and Jiraiya stood there with a solemn look on his face.

"Minato...I just heard what happened." Jiraiya said and Minato simply nodded as his sensei placed his hand on his shoulder. Though the boy didn't cry, he managed to keep a strong face as Jiraiya comforted him and the toad sage knew he was completely torn up on the inside.

"I just can't believe they're gone." Minato said and Jiraiya nodded. Nonetheless, he knew that his parents would both be proud that he survived the ordeal and managed to slay the ruthless ANBU.

Jiraiya, knowing Minato's exceptional intelligence, already could tell his student knew this but he continued to comfort him. Despite the aching sadness his hear felt, he remained calm and stood tall.

_Later on at night_

Tsunade sat in her living room looking at a picture of Nawaki and though she did what she could not to sob for the umpteenth time; it wasn't enough to keep the tears from streaming out of her eyes. She had only taken the picture yesterday right after Nawaki had received Hashirama's necklace, which now was in her possession.

The buxom kunoichi sadly looked at the necklace and remained silent as she remembered Nawaki's words from the day before.

_The day before_

_Tsunade and Nawaki stood on the wide balcony of their home that overlooked the village._

_"Happy 12th birthday, Nawaki!" Tsunade smiled at her younger brother as she held a silver case and he appreciated it with a frown._

_"Newsflash: I'm twelve and not a little kid! I don't need presents anymore!" Nawaki said._

_"Ha! You're still a kid as far as I can say!" Tsunade taunted and Nawaki slightly pouted in response._

_"Anyway, kid or not, you should open it. You'll be pretty surprised." Tsunade said as she leaned against the railing and Nawaki proceeded to do as told. He opened the case and pulled out Hashirama's necklace._

_Nawaki looked at the necklace with a shocked face and Tsunade only smiled at her brother's reaction._

_"Nee-chan, is this…?" Nawaki asked._

_"Yep; the necklace of the First Hokage." Tsunade said before Nawaki sprang at his sister to hug her affectionately._

_"I love you, Nee-chan!" Nawaki happily said while Tsunade chuckled and returned the hug._

_"I figured that you'd like it since you've had your eye on it for some time. I know you'll take good care of it, won't you?" Tsunade said._

_"You bet and it won't just be the necklace! It'll be the entire village, too!" Nawaki said as he stopped hugging Tsunade to don the necklace and proudly looked down at the village._

_"Nawaki…" Tsunade said out of surprise._

_"Since I'm the Grandson of the man who both created it and treasured it, I'll take care of it just him." Nawaki said and Tsunade only smiled._

_"It's like you always say; a man never goes back on his word!" Tsunade said._

_"Exactly! I'll be exactly like he was and the title of Hokage will be as good as mine because becoming Hokage is my dream!" Nawaki proudly proclaimed and Tsunade could only smile at her younger brother._

_"Nawaki, take off your headband." Tsunade said._

_"Why?" Nawaki asked._

_"Just hurry up and take it off. I've one final gift for you." Tsunade said as she began to undo Nawaki's headband while he stood still._

_"It's a magical charm that'll make your dreams come true." She said before kissing Nawaki's forehead. He didn't move and once she was done, he stood for a while before he grinned and chuckled._

_Tsunade only grinned and did the same._

The blonde woman's tears dripped down onto the necklace and she lay down on the couch. With Nawaki dead, she was now the final Senju that existed in Konoha and she curled up in a ball.

While looking at Nawaki's picture, she cried herself to sleep and remained in a fetal position throughout the night.

_The next day_

Minato donned his funeral garb and headed out the door. He headed to the graveyard and despite going there alone, he understood Jiraiya was comforting Tsunade and he was more than likely to be with her at the funeral.

Once he arrived at the graveyard, he joined a large crowd of attenders and stood with the other genin who had lost their parents. Meanwhile, Jiraiya stood in another crowd with other Jounin alongside Tsunade and Orochimaru while they listened on as Hiruzen gave a eulogy for the shinobi who lost their lives during the attack of the village.

Minato stood with a blank face as the funeral went on and while still feeling the aching pain of his parents' murder, he still refrained from appearing sad or even letting a tear appear on his face. Tsunade, whose eyes were red from the countless crying she had done the day before, managed to keep a strong face herself as she listened to her former sensei speak about the honorable sacrifices the deceased shinobi (that included Nawaki) had made to defend their home village.

After the eulogy, the funeral ended and many began to leave. Minato, however, headed to the memorial stone and stood in front of it while reading where his parents' names where etched.

He pressed his hands together and honorably bowed his head while kneeling. Eventually, he rose and felt Jiraiya's hand on his shoulder.

"Sensei…" Minato said as Jiraiya simply nodded and he headed to the gate. The young boy looked to see Tsunade and noticed her expression.

He easily figured she had been crying harder than him and sympathetically stared at her.

"Sensei, I'll be alright." Minato said and Jiraiya crouched down to him.

"Are you sure, Minato?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes, sensei." Minato answered and Jiraiya patted his shoulder before the white-haired sage took his leave. Looking back at Tsunade, Minato calmly walked over to her.

"Tsunade-sama?" Minato said and Tsunade looked down at him.

"I'm sorry about Nawaki. He was a terrific shinobi and great comrade." Minato said and Tsunade smiled down at him. She patted his shoulder and sighed.

"Thanks a lot, Minato." Tsunade said.

"As long as the Will of Fire goes on, Nawaki and the other shinobi will always be remembered, no matter how long time goes on." Minato said and Tsunade kneeled down to meet him at eye level. He blushed at someone he found so beautiful being so close and he nearly could stop twitching.

"I know more about the Will of Fire than you, kiddo." Tsunade said to Minato, who stood as he was.

"But, thanks anyway, Minato." Tsunade said.

"No problem at all, Tsunade-sama." Minato answered and Tsunade genuinely smiled at him before standing back up and leaving for home. Though the younger blonde shinobi knew it would be sometime before Tsunade was completely over her depression, he was nonetheless glad she could still smile and that was good enough to him.

Hiruzen watched from a distance and smiled at the young boy's efforts. He watched as Minato turned around and began to head home.

_Days later_

Minato stood in the field where he normally trained with Jiraiya and stood looking at the sky. Then, he remembered Kushina showing him how she was able to use a Tailed-Beast bomb and he began to wonder if he could make a similar technique.

He placed one hand over the other and began gathering chakra. From this point on, Minato would resolve to grow stronger and protect the village from any more danger; which he viewed as his remaining family.

* * *

I told you guys that reading this wouldn't be easy and good luck reading. Though Tsunade doesn't know that Minato lost his parents, this is where she would start to take a shine towards him and this chapter was to show how strong he mentally is; no matter how torn up on the inside he is, he is still strong enough to give comfort to others who need it just as much as him.

As for Minato managing to kill an Iwagakure ANBU, I'm sure most of you can tell this is just the beginning of his animosity with the Stone-Village and though he doesn't exactly hold a vendetta against them for murdering his parents, that isn't at all to say he's gonna allow them to cause harm to his village.

The death of Minato's parents and Nawaki also plays a part for Minato and Tsunade to protect Haruhi and their twins when the time comes. Well, I'll see you guys next time.


	3. One Week Later

We're finally back with chapter 3 of  _ **Mokuton Resurrection: Fresh Starts**_ and now we'll take a deeper look into how Minato and Tsunade are doing after the loss of their family members. As a bonus, it was both Minato's birthday and my friend  _ **Sketchfan's**_ as well when I first published this very chapter.  
Disclaimer: I don't own  _ **Naruto.  
**_ Note: This chapter is a week after Minato became an orphan.

* * *

Minato stood in the training field and gathered his chakra in his hand while trying to shape it perfectly. So far, his attempts at shaping his chakra were proving unsuccessful and he ceased the technique immediately.

"Well, Minato, how's that technique you're working on going?" Jiraiya asked as he approached Minato and the young shinobi turned around to reveal his slightly charred hands.

"I've still got some ground to cover before I can call it complete." Minato answered.

"Ouch." Jiraiya said.

"Indeed." Minato answered before he went to the hospital and sat in a hospital room before Tsunade came in. She looked at his hands with worry before kneeling down and placing her hands over his.

"Minato, what happened to your hands?" Tsunade asked.

"I burned them while trying to perform a new jutsu based off the Tailed-Beast bomb." Minato said and Tsunade sighed before beginning to heal his hands. Within a short time, his hands were healed and wrapped his hands in gauze bandages once she was finished.

"You know, even with ninjas dying as young as they do in the line of work, its reassuring to see those with devotion like you with bright futures ahead of you." Tsunade complimented as she finished wrapping his hands in gauze and Minato smiled at her.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama." Minato said and Tsunade nodded.

"There, now you'll have to take a few days off of training and from now on, don't be so reckless." Tsunade advised.

"Yes, ma'am." Minato answered before leaving and Tsunade shook her head as he left.

_"He's almost as determined as Nawaki was."_ Tsunade thought to herself and Minato left the building where he met Jiraiya outside.

"Well, how'd it go, Minato?" Jiraiya asked.

"Tsunade-sama healed my hands but said I should take some days off." Minato said.

"I see." Jiraiya said.

"But, you know, given the state of my hands, I can tell I'm making some progress." Minato smiled.

"That's the spirit." Jiraiya said before Minato headed home for the day and sat in his room staring at his ceiling. Since his parents were murdered, the house was so empty to him and the young blonde sighed before getting off his bed.

He sighed before walking around the village until he came to the training ground where he last spoke with Nawaki and sat near a training log before hearing some rustling nearby. Minato looked to see Tsunade appear from the trees and she looked back with a somewhat nervous look in her eyes,

"Damn!" Tsunade lowly said before looking at Minato and running over to him.

"Hello, Tsunade-sama, what's wrong?" Minato asked as Tsunade stopped near him and prepared some hand signs.

"Just be calm and follow my lead." Tsunade said before using the transformation jutsu to turn her appearance of when she was Minato's age and stood next to him. Just then, he noticed three men come from the trees and look around.

"Where'd she go?" The man asked.

"She couldn't have gotten far." The second one said before the last man noticed Minato and Tsunade nearby.

"Hey, blondie, have you and your boyfriend there seen this woman?" The third man asked as he presented an accurate drawing of Tsunade and she did her best to keep from raising her eye at them assuming Minato was her boyfriend; and also smiled at their denseness for not recognizing her.

"Who are you strange men?" Tsunade asked.

"We're debt collectors and she owes an incredible amount of debts to us." The first man asked.

"That pretty lady said she was leaving out of town and I think she said something about going to the Land of Lightning for a few years, right?" Tsunade asked Minato, who realized she was trying to deceive the bill-collectors.

"Oh, that's right, or it was somewhere near that area." Minato said.

"You're saying she's not here?!" The second bill collector said.

"Afraid not." Tsunade answered before wrapping her arm around Minato's and giggling.

"If you'll excuse us…" Tsunade giggled before she and Minato took off running while holding on his arm.

"Ah, young love." The third bill collector mused.

"Never mind them; what about our bills?" The second bill collector asked.

"We're heading to the Land of Lightning come hell or high water." The first bill collector said.

"Right!" The other bill collectors answered in unison before agreeing to leave the village to search for the supposed blonde woman.

_Meanwhile_

"Well, Minato, sorry I had to do that but I had to get rid of those guys somehow." Tsunade said as she and Minato watched the bill collectors from a distance away.

"Its okay, Tsunade-sama, but why do bill collectors always come after you?" Minato asked before Tsunade patted his head.

"Unfinished gambling business, kiddo." Tsunade answered before they started walking around once the bill collectors had left and they walked through the same area that Minato had last spoken with Nawaki.

"Just what are you doing here when I told you to rest?" Tsunade asked.

"I was just taking a walk to get out of the house." Minato answered.

"I imagine your parents must be wondering where you are." Tsunade said and Minato's head slightly lowered itself.

"About that…" Minato started to say with his usual tone lowering to a depressed one.

"What is it?" Tsunade asked.

"Last week during that attack, I lost them." Minato said and Tsunade gave the younger blonde a look of sympathy before patting his back.

_"Him, too."_ Tsunade thought .

"But, that's why I've been training so much recently since I feel the stronger I am, the more of a chance I have at defending Konoha in the future." Minato said.

"Good logic but don't push yourself too hard." Tsunade said and Minato's face lit back up.

"Thank you." Minato smiled at the older blonde before getting up.

"You take care, Minato." Tsunade said.

"You too, Tsunade-sama, thanks again." Minato said before leaving and Tsunade looked as he left.

_"That poor kid…he's going through the same thing I am and he still has the strength to go strong in his mental skills."_ Tsunade thought before standing up and beginning to leave the area. She stopped and realized she was still in her childhood state.

_"Isn't that something? I was so into giving the poor boy some comfort that I forgot to undo this jutsu."_ Tsunade thought to herself before undoing the jutsu and returned to her usual appearance before leaving.

_Elsewhere_

Minato returned home and felt slightly better than he was earlier. Normally, he'd talked to Kushina about this but she had moved to Amegakure since Kumogakure still persisted in trying to hunt her down for Kurama within her and given the land's security, it was the last place anyone would suspect her to be.

Plus, she apparently had a cousin there whose name Minato didn't know that she and her family were residing with and he thought back to the time before she left when they spoke for the final time.

_Not long ago_

_Minato and Kushina stood on the balcony overlooking the village and stared into the distance._

_"Minato…Minato…earth to Minato, dattebane!" Kushina said as Minato broke out of his gaze into the distance._

_"Sorry, Kushina." Minato said._

_"You were thinking of Tsunade-sama's chest, weren't you?" Kushina teased and a light blush appeared on Minato's cheeks; despite not thinking of said blonde's chest._

_"No, I wasn't." Minato said._

_"Well, your face is looking awfully red to me. I'm telling ya; Jiraiya-sensei is rubbing off on you." Kushina laughed._

_"Anyway, there's another group of Uzumaki in this Rain Village offering your family shelter?" Minato asked._

_"So far, my folks have told me that there's another Uzumaki family there and their security level is incredible." Kushina said._

_"Those Kumogakure people or no one else after the Nine-Tails will ever think to look there though I've got say; I'm sure gonna miss this place." Kushina said._

_"With your personality, you'll make plenty of friends before you know it." Minato said._

_"Still…" Kushina said._

_"Anyway, how is that new technique you're working on coming along?" Kushina asked._

_"Far from completion but progress is progress. I just need to form it and get the rotation right" Minato said._

_"Well, what I do when I'm using my Tailed-Beast Bomb is extract some chakra from it, concentrate it and then fire away." Kushina said and Minato began to think about applying a similar method to his technique._

_"Hmmm…"_   _Minato thought before the sun began setting._

_"Well, Minato, it's been fun and thanks for everything." Kushina said before holding out her hand._

_"It's been a pleasure knowing you, Kushina." Minato said._

_"Also, good luck with Tsunade-sama." Kushina snickered before Minato's light blush reappeared on his face._

_"Take care, Kushina." Minato said._

_"So long, Minato." Kushina smiled._

Though he missed Kushina, he knew it was for the best since she's in a safer area and he smiled before moving on to make dinner. As he sat at the table eating, he looked at the seats where his parents usually sat at and sighed before continuing to eat his food to take his mind off them.

_Next couple of days_

Minato walked through the streets and found the Ino-Shika-Cho trio walking through the streets.

"Hey, Minato, what's up?" Inoichi asked.

"Oh, just taking a walk. What about you three?" Minato answered.

"We're off to an all-you-can-eat special! Care to join us?" Chōza answered.

"Well, I don't want to intrude…" Minato started to say before the red-haired youngster looped his arm around his neck and brought him along.

"Come now…it's all you can eat and today everything has a discount!" Chōza said.

"What a drag, Chōza, you're that excited over the discount prices?" Shikaku asked.

"Of, course I am!" Chōza merrily answered before the four young shinobi left for Yakiniku Barbecue restaurant and the four ate their fill of food.

"Well, that was delicious, don't you think, Minato?" Inoichi asked.

"No question about it; that was incredibly satisfying." Minato answered.

"It wasn't bad in the least." Shikaku added.

"Indeed, it wasn't!" Chōza said as he patted his gut.

"Well, thanks for the invitation but I should be going now to train now." Minato said.

"So long, Minato. " Inoichi said.

"Goodbye." Minato said as he left the trio and they stared after him.

"Well, Chōza, I'm glad we invited him with us." Inoichi said.

"Yes, the poor guy's shouldering some serious mental pain." Shikaku said.

"If inviting us cheered him up in any fashion, then I'd say he's slowly on the road to recovery." Chōza said.

"Yes, but considering what he's going through, it'll be a while before he's back to normal over his parents." Inoichi said.

"Yes, it will." Shikaku glumly answered.

_Elsewhere_

Minato returned to the training grounds and stretched his arms before taking his new steps of adding a rotation to his hands as he focused his chakra. From the trees, Jiraiya watched his disciple and watched his efforts before noticing Tsunade appear.

"Oh, hey, Tsunade, what brings you by?" Jiraiya asked.

"Nothing in particular." Tsunade answered before leaning against a tree and watched Minato practice.

"You're here for Minato, aren't you?" Jiraiya said and Tsunade didn't give him answer as they watched him perform until he was finished practicing.

_"I won't give up…I won't."_ Minato reassured himself as Tsunade gave him a look of mixed sympathy and impression. Despite him going through the same level of loss she was, she was impressed by his indomitable resolve and fighting spirit.

* * *

Chapter three is here at least and this was to show how both Minato and Tsunade were doing after the loss of their family members and also explains about Kushina's whereabouts since she has never been mentioned in any of the other  ** _Mokuton Resurrection_** stories. Now, this chapter begins Tsunade's interest in Minato as she'll watch him grow from the boy she's amazed by into the man she'll love in the future and there's a good chance Dan will appear in the next chapter.

However, I'd like to see some reviews voting on what you'd like to see in the next chapter and until then, take care.


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